I^^^^^^^B . i'¥«v|; ''KMt^^^K^^Ktm' '' 


-*S . ;, -'^ . 






..;■ . :• • , ; 


^^H ' fl ' if 


W^-' '^U^|)W-' : ^rm^X 







FROM THE PRAIRIES OF AMERICA TO THE HOMES OF THE WORLD 

This is a direct photographic reproduction of an apartment furnished 
exclusively with Crex Grass Products. 




TRADE MARK . . 



American Grass T^wrir^e Co2i3parh>^ 



NEW YORK 



CHICA.GO, 111. 



ST. PAUL, Minn. 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

Mm i 1903 

Cof.>ngn-i Entry 
CLASS «• XXc. No. 

^3. ^ '^ 

COPY 8/ 



c 



^ 



Copyright, 1903, by 
American Grass Twine Company. 



Engraved and Printed by Andrew H. Kellogg Co., New York 



JNEW XORK r\ 



A- 



i- 



A Prodi g'ality of Nature 




ROM the plains of Wisconsin and Minnesota springs a spontaneous growth 
of exquisitely colored round grass, from which has been created the marvel 
of modern commerce familiarly known as Crex Grass Products. This won- 
derful grass — the world's most beautiful harvest — grows from a purely 
vegetable soil that produces nothing else, save the pretty wild flowers that 
enliven the aspect of ripening grain and testify to the pure and wholesome life of this 
prairie country. The nature of 'the soil — freed from all mineral substances — makes the 
grass wdioUy fibre, another word for adaptability to many methods of manufacture, and 
very long wear. Practically, it is indestructible by wear. 

A New Art Q\iicRly R,eco^nized 

Specially contrived machines form this sturdy material into a smooth twine, so woven 
into carpets and wound on furniture frames that the efifect is best described as a perfect 
union of decorative grace and practical value. The first Crex Grass Carpet and the first 
pieces of Crex Grass Furniture were offered for sale a little more than three years ago; 
but so quick was the recognition of their beauty and merit, and so rapid and general the 
sales, that four immense manufacturing plants are required to keep the supply within the 
neighborhood of the demand. 



The enthusiasm of the art devotee was tempted by the new color effects of Crex, and 
the frugal homebuilder instantly knew its possibilities for hard service. 

Crex is the vogue for furnishings and carpeting in these widely separated spheres 
because it has a most surprising adaptability to all sorts of conditions, surroundings, and 
associations. 

A HALL may be made inviting and cheering through an easy disposal of Crex 
chairs, a Crex cozy corner, and an arrangement of draperies, costly or inexpensive, as you 
like — remembering always the foundation tones of Crex carpet. 

A PARLOR is peculiarly susceptible to the Crex treatment. The greater reward 
remains to those who elaborately employ the softening and refining influence of Crex 
color, either when in contrast with the severity of the Colonial and Morris ideals, or when 
cast as a foil to the rich upholstery and rare woods of the modern decoration. 

A DINING-ROOM is given both repose and dignity by a treatment of broad and 
simple style, Crex Grass Carpet forming both the motif of color and suggestion of ample 
comfort that should attend this scene of the social graces. 

A LIVING-ROOM, the theatre of domesticity, offers an almost unlimited field for 
the exercise of both the ingenuity of the capable upholsterer and the personal taste of the 
comfort seeker. Crex Grass Carpet should cover the floor, and the larger pieces of 
Crex Grass Furniture boldly stood out, at intervals freed from walls, which may be hung 
with Crex Carpet and topped with a harmonizing frieze, giving to the ceiling a delicate 
shade of green, or dark green and dull red decoration over this light background. 



A BEDROOM, if for the staid members of the household who lean heavily on the 
comforts of life, must be laid with the restful Crex Grass Carpet and set with some of 
the inviting Crex easy chairs, a Crex couch, screen, baskets, and other smaller pieces 
that contribute to individual comfort or convenience. To the younger set, the ardor of 
whose love of prettiness and oddity has not cooled, Crex is a fountain of suggestion for 

N combination with those belongings that give a room human interest. 

»A DEN is the man's paradise, where convention may be kicked 
under the table and fixed order turned outdoors. In this room Crex 
... , Grass Carpet and a judicious use of Crex Furniture impart an air 

f of outdoor life that heightens the inevitable effect of personality. 

THE LIBRARY may be given the essential tone of restfulness 
and quiet by laying the floor with Crex Carpet and liberally supplying 
Crex arm chairs of generous proportions, along with appropriate fix- 
tures wrought in Crex. 

A SMALL ROOM — the kind the architect seems to have left to 
reproach the contractor and plague the housewife — and the odd 
corners, and attics, and inglenooks, and stiff corners — become 
endowed with grace and beauty when Crex Grass Carpet and 
Crex Grass Furniture are substituted for the commonplace 
floor covering and ordinary furnishings. 

The most comfortable and attractive rooms are those 




EXA.MINING THE GRASS. 



in which simplicity is the predominating note. Crex Carpet and Crex Furniture both bear 
this outward evidence of dignity and worth. 

These brief suggestions should prove serviceable alike to the woman who has com- 
pleted her house furnishing ; to the woman who has a prospect of remodeling and reforming 
the old arrangement, and to the woman who has the architect and builder at work on a» 
new house. Crex Carpet and Crex Furniture add color and life to the architectural scheme 
as well as to the general decorative effect. 

The Ne"w Floor Covering* 

From a purely economical viev.point Crex Grass Products also appeal strongly to 
women of both moderate means and contracted circumstances. Crex Grass Carpet is very 
closely and solidly woven, so that it lies compactly on the floor. It does not require the 
racking stretch of ordinary carpet, which is nearly as much worn by the strong tension 
used to make it " fit " as it is by the passing feet. 

It is twice as heavy as ingrain, giving a luxurious footing, full of " life," and resembling 
the springiness of the heavy pile of velvet carpet- 
It is the only sanitary floor covering — it does not hold dust, or harbor germs, and moth 
will not attack it. 

Its warp is made of the best and strongest four-ply cotton twine, which, combined with 
the almost indestructible fibre of the grass, forms a floor covering that costs less than ingrain 






and wears like Wilton — a heretofore unheard-of combination of artistic merit and practical 
value. 

Crex Grass Carpet is made in various widths, and in very handsome rugs and art squares 

of many sizes. The patterns are 
varied in the plain and figured 
carpets, rugs and art squares. 
Solid colorings and striped ef- 
fects prevail ; but the unusual, 
natural colors and figured patterns 
of this wonderful carpet are so 
apt in harmony with all other 
tones and schemes of decoration 
that to adopt the usual florid 
carpet patterns would be a dis- 
tinctive loss to tasteful and artistic 
furnishing. 

WEAVING CREX GRASS CARPET. Crcx Grass Carpet is made 

iwenty-four to seventy-two inches wide, with selvedge edge, for floor covering, and with 
bound edges in the usual narrow width, for stairways and hall runners. It is woven in 
fifty-yard lengths, from which the dealer cuts to meet the requirements of the pur- 
chaser. 




THe Modern Ftirnittire 

CREX GRASS FURNITURE has its usefulness and dependability deeply seated in 
the very fine and very strong framework which is one of its most admirable characteristics. 
In the woodwork are closely followed the honest methods of our forefathers, who built for 
future generations. 

This perfect framework is made entirely from selected second-growth ash, thoroughly 
seasoned, and so solidly joined that all the strain of use and wear is taken from the grass 
twine that is later wrapped on it. 

The twine, which not only forms its own finish but finally bears the sizing and varnish 
that serve to preserve the beautiful surface tones of the grass, is wound on by experts 
who have been taught the process as an art. It lies on the framework with the regularity 
of the threads in a beautiful fabric, free from the unsightly knots and joinings that blemish 
the best rattan and willow work. 

The natural Crex colors — delicate shades of green, with suggestions of brown and gold — 
have no counterpart on the palette of artificial color. There is nothing with which it can 
be fairly compared — it is an alkahest in decoration that resolves everything else to its own 
medium ; a fellow of every color tone ; an affinity of delicacy. 

More than two hundred and fifty shapes and styles of furnishings are made in Crex 
Grass Furniture, with the catalogue continually growing. A few are shown in succeeding 
pages, but even the great advance-art of printing here employed, with all its wealth of color, 
fails to do the subject approximate justice. 



Crex Grass Furniture bears the crucial tests of assembly or isolation in the showroom. 



How few pieces of furniture but " look better 
often when alone a piece that charmed under 
the influence of association loses its most 
attractive feature. Crex Grass Furniture, in 
form, color, and finish, is at variance with 
the familiar, yet it is not radical in any 
feature. There is a resemblance, in method 
only, to the willow pieces once so popular, 
but it is a mere matter of mental suggestion : 
willow, reed, and rattan are fixedly attached 
to the warm season — they are cold and for- 
bidding on the approach of frost— while Crex 
is a year-around furnishing. In the summer 
it appears cool and inviting ; in the winter 
it seems to radiate warmth and comfort. 

The secret of its compatability is the 
marvelous color that seems to blend with 
everything, natural and artificial, redeeming 
an unfortunate ensemble, condoning the 
pose of awkwardness, relieving the restraint 



separated from the mass around it — and 




COMBING THE GRASS. 




AN INTERIOR DECORATED AND FURNISHED WITH CREX GRASS PRODUCTS. 



of rigid lines, or lending a softening and refining influence to tasteful arrangement and 
delicacy of ornament. 

Crex Grass Products — the carpet and furniture — have found a warm welcome abroad 
as well as at home. Our late imperial guest, Prince Henry of Prussia, was lavish in praise 
of his private car fitted with luxurious Crex ; many of the old manors of Great Britain, 
famed salons of the Continental capitals, and the palace of the Viceroy of India are 
liberally supplied with this unusual furnishing wrought from what was once the waste of 
a million acres of prairie land, but now a highly prized object of commerce. 

"WHere It May be Boti^Kt 

The price of Crex Grass Furniture is much less than that of the best grades of willow, 
reed, and rattan. Crex excels at every point, and would be more economical at a considerable 
advance in the price. 

Crex Grass Products are sold by the larger dealers everywhere, and they will be glad 
to show both the carpet and furniture. If not sold in your immediate neighborhood, the 
manufacturers will appreciate any inquiry, giving immediate reply. 

Should this book suggest anything you would like to know about Crex that is not 
here made clear, will you kindly write? The entire novelty of these articles of necessity 
will bring about much interesting and helpful inquiry, and the obligation will be ours in 
event of any interest you may show in either the origin, course of manufacture, selling, 
or shipping of Crex. 



Kindly address the office nearest your residence: 

41 Union Square, New York ; or 
50 South Canal Street, Chicago ; or 
St. Paul, Minn. 

AMERICAN GRASS TWINE COMPANY. 




14 G. 




101 G 




103 R. 




202 R. 



CREX 

Grass Carpet \ 



* '*'- "IT*"**''" '"^ 












■■•■ >"»"<••• fT<^^>v<' <f r - ■ 













'^ }j-'^{~ : 



308 G. 













Graas Carpet \ ^ 




403 R. 




103 K 




103 D. 




101 F. 




102 E 




104 H 




102 B. 




575 



387 




565 



CREX 

Grass Funuture \ 




Grass Furniture 






830 



579 



Grass Furniture 



MAR 3 1903 







^^|lp«!!j^"!«S!«P^^|||»^'^l^ 



ll i l>> ! l ^ ^#f«^ j''« i f l'!ir.'^ta<| l ^^ 



ii»*^»«ss?*c*.gi«»rt*#**«M^^ 



■ iP i !aB'i' ' ' 'i '" '' ''' " 



"■yr •»=«; ia!>wiigp; !" '-w 




^»fe^^ii^i#»i»^-,1w.ia.milia 






